My dog got breast cancer

[richard6488 10]

went to the vets last week with my dog with a big lump her teat and they thought it was a infention had to take her back today and they said its breast cancer there going to xray her tomorrow to see how far its gone .and they said if its not spread they could operate on her .there cant give me any chances to say if it has spread and if she will survive the operation as she is 13 yrs old. west highland terrier, can any 1 give me any advice please. thank for looking

[Evei 10]

went to the vets last week with my dog with a big lump her teat and they thought it was a infention had to take her back today and they said its breast cancer there going to xray her tomorrow to see how far its gone .and they said if its not spread they could operate on her .there cant give me any chances to say if it has spread and if she will survive the operation as she is 13 yrs old. west highland terrier, can any 1 give me any advice please. thank for looking

 

Sorry to hear she is not well. I will keep my fingers crossed that when they x-ray her you get some better news.

 

I suppose at her age you have to work out the risk versus the suffering she will go through if she needs a lot of treatment. xx

[spotty dog 10]

Sorry I can't offer advice but didnt want to read and run.i hope someone comes along and can offer you advice.hope all goes well.x

[Moonbird 10]

After having 2 bitches that died with breast cancer (one was when I was a child and one a rescue dog already elderly with it) these are my thoughts on it.

I would say that if the vet can be sure that they can remove it without it spreading then go ahead, but if not then in my own personal opinion I wouldn't put them through it as its a big operation and quite painful for them...sometimes they can live for quite a long time with the tumors before they actually make them feel ill.

 

I hope that everything works out well for you and your little dog

[richard6488 10]

they cant promise me it wouldnt spread after operation,its so hard , i really dont know wot to do , if they could say it would be gone completely then i wouldnt hesiate to have the op ,it isnt the the money ,ive got the money, its wot the dog will go through at 13 yrs old im worried about ,

[Powerage 10]

I really feel for you I was in this quandry myself just two weeks ago my ageing mastiff fell ill and it turned out she had a pyrometra plus the beginnings of mammary cancer, I was willing to have all the ops it wasn't the money for me either.

Unfortunately the decision was really taken out of my hands when the x rays revealed she had an enlarged heart as well, so it would have been unlikely she would have survived an op anyway so we made the sad decision to have her PTS I am still heartbroken but at least I know she won't suffer.

[ccit 10]

Years ago one of my West Highland White Terriers had a mammary tumour. We had it removed and the histology showed that it was an adenocarcinoma which the vet thought would spread (although he removed all of the lump). It did spread and she eventually died from the disease. A lot depends on the type of cancer and your vet will be able to tell you if they remove it. With the help of your vet you will be able to decide what is the best option.

 

One of my current dogs recently had a lump removed from her mammary area and I immediately thought of cancer. Thankfully, it was just a fatty one. It's a horrible thing to face and you have my sympathy.

 

Whilst on the subject of mammary tumours, the incidence of them occurring can be drastically reduced if bitches are spayed early. My vet told me that they are unusual in spayed bitches. It is one good reason to have them neutered after the first season.

[foxyflugel 10]

Hi - sorry to hear your sad news. Apologies for the long post - but we have been there and got successful treatment for our dog.

 

Kelly, our whippet was mis-diagnosed (when she was about 12 years old) by a useless local vets as having a hernia when we found a lump on her tummy. We had it removed and then within a month another lump had appeared on the other side of her tummy and she had developed small lumps on her lymph nodes. They, again, mis-diagnosed and said she had an infection in her lymph system and prescribed anitbiotics for a week.

 

We then took her back as the tablets hadn't worked - a vet said she had lymphoma (and the 'hernia' was actually a mammary tumour) and wanted to prescribe her some steroid tablets and informed me - in a very blase manner - that the tablets would work for so long and then the lumps would grow and kill her..basically! I was absolutely devastated - so told them where to shove their steroids - as they had misdiagnosed her in the first place. Kelly was spayed and had been as a pup.

 

We took her to a vets that my Aunt recommended. Totally different, a really friendly 'can do' attitude and gave us some info on cancer. They did the op - removed all the lumps they could (sent a biopsy to find out what stage cancer it was) except for the ones under her throat as there is a lot of nerves etc there.

 

She was fine after the op - a bit sore - but nonetheless good. We started her on chemotherapy - at first it was once a week - plus had to give her tablets (wearing gloves) and then she soon went to once a fortnight - then once a month etc. After about 6 months she was in total remission

 

After about 2 years the cancer did return with a vengeance and progressed very quickly - to the point where we didn't really have the chance to fight it again - so we had to take the only course of action we could and have her pts.

 

Apologies for the long post, but I wanted to tell you what we experienced - including the positives and negatives so you can make a fully informed decision.

 

Usually, my vets advised us, just removing the lumps is not enough - even if the vets think they have got it all - they have chemo (length depends on severity) just to be sure it is totally gone.

 

We wouldn't hesitate to do it all again if required (heaven forbid ). It was worth every penny and Kelly had another 2 years with us and was fit as a fiddle - she had her normal quality of life and was full of energy.

 

I know it's not always about money (it certainly isn't with us) but as long as your dog is up to the op - then i would say go for it - every time.

 

The chemo isn't expensive (as a lot of people seem to think) and as opposed to people having chemo - when they are poorly afterwards - Kellys chemo always perked her up - we could tell when she was due for it. So it doesn't make them really poorly or off like it does people.

 

The number of people I hear saying that their dog has cancer so they have it pts - it's a shame. I also think that many vets don't champion chemo enough - some vets (like the first ones we took Kelly to and asked about chemo) are reluctant to do it - can't understand why really. It's just an injection and some tablets.

 

The only thing we would have done differently is not to have the initial mammary tumour removed (if we would have known it was this and not a hernia as we were told) as when she had this removed - that is when the lumps appeared in her lymph system. We would have certainly had to have the biopsy - but then moved straight onto the chemo.

 

Hope this helps - I'm sure you will make the right decision for your dog.

 

Good luck and go for it - best thing we did for Kelly.

 

---------- Post added 23-05-2013 at 13:11 ----------

 

On the other side of the coin, more recently, Sophie, our Great Dane had a lump directly on her teat - it was growing slowly but wasn't particularly big (about the size of a pound coin). We couldn't do anything about this as she had dilated cardiomyopathy so an op was out of the question . The vets said that they could aspirate it to take a sample but this was not always an accurate or successful method for results. We had no choice but to leave it - it wasn't bothering her. She had this for about a year - maybe more - but we eventually lost her to her heart problem at just over 10 years old. Heartbreaking

Edited May 23, 2013 by foxyflugel

[Pixie824 10]

My 13 year old foster GSD was diagnosed with breast cancer, the vet was very positive about it and she was immediately operated on with no issues whatsoever. If your dog is generally in good health I'd say do it but if you or the vet have doubts you must decide what is best for her.

I hope all goes well, try not to worry too much x

[richard6488 10]

ive had my dog xray to see how far the cancer has gone , plus they found her heart is enlarged too now, so ive decided to bring her back home and have some time with her then i will have to have her put down as i know she will suffer ,

[spats 10]

Oh, my goodness...I am SO sorry for you. Trying to stay brave & strong when facing the loss of a beloved pet is just so heartbreaking & so, so, difficult. I am sending you a great big hug right now. The only thing I can say to you to help is this.....if you can, arrange fot the vet to come into your home for a home euthanasia. Dont leave it too long, because if your dog deteriorates suddenly, you will loose having the option of choosing when & where, because if she goes downhill suddenly or at night she will need immediate veterinary assistance. Having the vet come to you is so much better, I think, for the animal (it will never be better for you). The dog is not stressed, they are at home in a peaceful place, surrounded by the people that love them & are reassured by familiar smells & comforts.

We did this for our old dog. She was 21. We knew it was time. She was comfortable on her blanket. We held her & stroked her and fed her her favourite yummy ham as she passed. We cried & cried but knew it was her time to go & she went so peacefully & gently. The vet left us alone to hold & hug her afterwards. We said our goodbyes & then the vet let us wrap her in her blanket & took her outside into the car. We had her cremated & she rests in the garden now with all our other beautiful pets that have passed over the years. I am sure I am not alone in saying that we are all thinking about you. God Bless.

[rach85 10]

Aah sorry to hear this have some more time with her and then do whats best for her, its heartbreaking i know xx